* Armour is divided into four weight categories: light, medium, heavy, and superheavy.* movement rates in light armour are not reduced (30/20 ft). Movement rate in medium armour is 2/3 normal (20/15 ft). Movement in heavy armour is 1/2 normal (15/10 ft), and running is limited to 3 times base speed (it is 4 times base speed with light/medium armours). Super-heavy armour is like heavy armour, except that running is not possible while wearing such armour.* Light Armour proficiency is needed to wear light armour. Medium Armour Proficiency is needed to wear medium armour. Heavy Armour Proficiency allows you to wear both heavy and super-heavy armour.

Major changes to armour below.

* Light armours allow a character full use of the Dexterity bonus. Medium armours limit the Dexterity bonus to a maximum of 1/2 normal (round fractions off). Heavy and super-heavy armours allow a maximum Dexterity bonus of +1.

* When trying to cast a spell, each 5% spell failure chance converts to reducing the caster's effective caster level by 1 (minimum 1), and raises the mana cost to cast each spell by one additional d6 roll.

Thoughts?

Emma Rome, otherwise known as AshtagonOverall site admin for The Piazza. My moderator colour is pink!

I like the DR concept. But adding DR while reducing AC makes armour rather useless. You'd end up being much easier to hit, and reducing the damage by a few points when monsters are doing 20+ damage in a single hit is worthless. So I figured, add both. I added the rock-paper-scissors game to armour choices in order to make weapon decisions more involved, and I added the natural 20 hole and minimum damage hole in order to make sure weapons can still do some damage regardless of armour.

Magical enhancement bonuses on armour apply to both AC and DR.

There will be armour training feats which enable the character to increase the effective DR (and AC, and reduce the skill penalty) of their armour.

I simplified the Dexterity penalties to reduce complexity in the system.

Emma Rome, otherwise known as AshtagonOverall site admin for The Piazza. My moderator colour is pink!

How about those creatures or characters that already have DR? Does it stack somehow?

Personally I've been testing a version that combines lowering the Armor bonus but grants both DR and on top of that a damage conversion that converts some of the lethal damage into temporary/subdual damage.

I also recently read a rules varient where armor technology & construction allows for more varieties of armor types.

DR gained from body armour stacks with all other DR. The DR from body armour (if any) should be applied before checking the creature's own DR. If if a given attack can bypass the armour's DR, that does not affect whether or not that attack can bypass DR gained from other sources.

In terms of temporary/subdual/non-lethal damage, I am still trying to work out a satisfactory system.

Emma Rome, otherwise known as AshtagonOverall site admin for The Piazza. My moderator colour is pink!